National Budget for 7.28-29

* NOTE: Jean Hodges will be on vacation the week of July 30, returning Aug. 6. Please contact Michael Toeset in her absence.

Here are the top national stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/. Please submit stories below no later than 6 pm local time, unless you have breaking news that is changing significantly.

THIS WEEK IN WEIRD – A compilation of weird news from GateHouse newspapers. GHNS

ANTI-GUN ADVOCATES: It has been a violent summer in Chicago, and anti-gun activists here have struck back in their own way by urging policymakers to enact “common sense” gun laws. Story assesses whether any movement has been made. RAMSEY/Chicago Bureau/moving Friday morning/Illinois

SUICIDE-BY-COP: What really happened when cops shot and killed James Hart? Documents offer new details on the tragic shooting of a 65-year-old man by a Quincy police officer. Patriot Ledger, Kelly, 8 inches, 7 p.m.
With extended sidebar featuring officers minute-by-minute recounting from the scene.

HUNTING OVER THE INTERNET: A measure is moving through the Mass. Legislature banning "hunting over the Internet." Apparently, a Web site allows people to pay to steer their gun online, aim at a live animal, and shoot (and kill the animal). How could it be enforced? Patriot Ledger 12 inches, 7 p.m.

BRICKYARD 400 – Biggest names in NASCAR will be at Indy this weekend. CRONIN
W/Notebook and Box

Opinions

GRANLUND: Cartoon on allegations of drunk astronauts.
On wire now in Opinions/Cartoons

RICK HOLMES COLUMN: J.Edgar Hoover's war on the mafia corrupted the FBI and sent innocent men to prison. The same pitfalls lurk in Bush's war on terror. MetroWest/6 p.m.

POLITICS YOUTUBE EDITORIAL: A disagreement between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the midst of a YouTube debate creates an opening for a serious foreign policy discussion. MetroWest/6 p.m.

Lifestyles

JEFF VRABEL: If you're like me, you enjoy a good rock concert every now and again - although if you're also like me, you're aging with what appears to be an unusually increasing speed, your hair is turning a shade of gray that people say is "distinguishing" because people lie to you so you do nice things for them, you can't really stand crowds, you're weary of the post-show traffic, you wonder how many child-labor laws are being broken by whoever hires the parking lot attendants, you've spent time calculating how much money you've graciously donated to Ticketmaster over the course of your lifetime, you can't believe you're paying $9 for a Bud Flipping Light, you forgot your earplugs and you wish all those other people would stop smoking the marijuana so much, damn kids, that's a gateway drug! VRABEL / In / Entertainment

TRAVEL: ORIENTAL INSTITUTE MUSEUM - CHICAGO – Who knew? Tucked away inside a Gothic-style building at the University of Chicago is an astounding collection of Middle Eastern antiquities that could not be re-assembled here today at any cost. The Oriental Institute Museum showcases 8,000 artifacts from some of the ancient empires – including those of Mesopotamia , Persia and Egypt -- that gave birth to modern civilization. The oldest pieces go back nearly 5,000 years. RAMSEY/Chicago Bureau/moving Friday afternoon/Travel, One Tank Trips and Illinois News
ART: supplied pics

Coming Monday (Biz & Ag)

DIRTY JOBS: Someone's got to clean up animal feces. Note: This is one of a local series on people with dirty jobs. This might be a good idea to try in your local paper. STURGIS, Mich. / In / Lifestyle

VIDEO RESUMES are the wave of the job-seeking future, say placement specialists and HR directors. They are on YouTube and elsewhere, and are of the news ways job candidates are finding to showcase their skills and personality. The Patriot Ledger. April Dembroski. 16 inches. On wire now, in Business and Mass. News.
Art: photo illustration.